


Breaking point

by melian225



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Community: HPFT, Cruciatus, First War with Voldemort, Gen, Madness, Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-09
Updated: 2018-05-08
Packaged: 2019-05-04 06:37:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14587143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melian225/pseuds/melian225
Summary: The Dark Lord has fallen in mysterious circumstances, and Bellatrix Lestrange is determined to find out what happened.





	1. Devastation

“NO! It can’t be true!!” Bella stared at her husband, aghast. “You’ve heard wrong.”

“I assure you,” Rodolphus told her, “that it is correct. The Dark Lord has fallen.”

“But how?” Bella’s voice was little more than a whisper.

Rodolphus shook his head. “No one seems to know. He went to the Potters’ on the spy Pettigrew’s information, and he never came out. Neither did they, but no one knows what happened to the Dark Lord.”

Bella went pale. “No one knows? But … but … he is infallible! He cannot be defeated!”

Rodolphus shook his head. “It would appear that he in fact can be defeated. Snape says there wasn’t even a body. He’d just – disappeared.”

“Snape!” Bella spat the name out with distaste. “He’s just a child! Barely out of his teens. What can he know?”

“He was there,” Rodolphus said. “Not at the time, but shortly afterwards. Remember, he desired the Potter girl?”

A gleeful smile flashed across Bella’s face. “And she’s dead? Good. Snape is getting too close to the Dark Lord, it will do him good to have things go against him for a while.”

“While I don’t disagree,” Rodolphus said evenly, his eyes boring into her, “we must remember that with the Dark Lord gone – yes, gone – things have gone against us as well.”

Bella sank to the floor in despair. If this was true, as impossible as it seemed to be, then everything she believed in, everything she had fought for, was gone. She had gone as far as anyone and further than most to obtain the Dark Lord’s favour, had been promised a post as lieutenant once the war was over and the Dark Lord was in his rightful position as leader of the wizarding world. But now, it seemed, there was nothing left of that dream, and all her hopes had vanished with it.

“One thing,” Rodolphus was saying over her inner turmoil, “that surprised everyone even more, was that the Potter boy survived. The child.”

Bella looked up, her senses awakened. “The child?” she asked, her gaze sharpening. “He survived? But that was why the Dark Lord went there in the first place! The parents were immaterial, it was the boy who needed to be disposed of.”

“I know about the prophecy as well as you do, Bella,” her husband said gently. “But again, it appears the Dark Lord failed in that venture. The child lives.”

“Well, what are we waiting for?” asked Bella, standing up with determination written all over her face. “Let’s go! We need to get to the boy, we need to finish the Dark Lord’s work!”

“Not so fast.” Rodolphus put a hand on his wife’s shoulder. “Dumbledore –” and he spat the name out with disgust – “has taken him. Word is that the boy has gone to his mother’s sister’s house and is under an enchantment so he cannot be touched.”

“Dumbledore!” Bella’s treatment of the name had even more violence and vehemence than her husband’s had. “Why did he have to interfere? We should be able to finish the job as the Dark Lord would have wished.”

“I am afraid, my dear,” Rodolphus said tenderly, putting his arms around her, “that, for the time being, our hands are tied.”

There was no response, just the shaking shoulders and heaving sobs of his wife as she cried into him. Bella was aware that Rodolphus was probably a little taken aback, as she rarely let her emotions take over like this, but then again she had no idea what to do if this could possibly be true. What she did know, however, was that she was going to find out exactly what had happened, and then extract revenge on whoever was responsible. In light of this impossible news, it was the least she could do.


	2. Culpability

Pettigrew was the first one Bella had wanted to go after. “The Dark Lord went to the Potters’ on his information, and the Dark Lord fell there. It must be Pettigrew’s fault; he must know what happened.”

Rodolphus held up a hand to steady her. “Even if he did, it’s too late, remember? Your cousin Sirius killed him not long afterwards.”

“Ah, yes, that’s right,” Bella shook her head, remembering the incident. “The Ministry thought he was the spy. I always knew they had no idea. Though it’s a fitting fate for the blood traitor, a life sentence in Azkaban. Serves him right for betraying the family name.” Her beautiful face wore a very ugly look. “At least Regulus did the right thing and joined up; it stopped the rest of us disowning them entirely.”

She didn’t mention her sister Andromeda, nor did she want to think about her. One blood traitor per family was more than enough.

“How about the Order of the Phoenix?” Rodolphus suggested, pleasing his wife by not mentioning Andromeda either. “They may know what happened, and they may even know where the Dark Lord is.”

“Dumbledore!” Bella said gleefully, glad to be thinking of something other than where the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black might have gone wrong. “I’ve always wanted to be the one to take him down.” She pulled out her wand and fingered it lovingly.

“ _Not_ Dumbledore,” Rodolphus said. “If nothing else he’s almost impossible to get to. Infiltrating Hogwarts is something even the Dark Lord baulked at.”

“You’re right.” Bella put her wand back inside her robes. “Though if we do get a chance at Dumbledore, I’m trying.”

“Fine, fine,” said Rodolphus, though Bella had the impression he was placating her. “But I was thinking more about the Aurors who are also in the Order. Moody, Diggle, the Longbottoms …”

Bella seized on that last name. “The Longbottoms!! They were close to the Potters, they could well know.” She pulled out her wand again with relish and started towards the door.

Rodolphus had to put a hand on his wife’s shoulder to stop her heading out then and there to confront the two Aurors. “Fine, we will target the Longbottoms. But let’s give this some thought first. It would be well to have a number of people present for the interrogation, and we need to know their movements so we can abduct them somewhere not too public, so we don’t raise the alarm too early. Preparation, my dear, is the key to success.”

“But we’re losing valuable time!” Bella protested almost desperately. “Every day that goes past means the Dark Lord may be further from our grasp. It is almost a week since he fell, and if this is Dumbledore’s doing then he may not be able to be retrieved at all!”

“But if we don’t plan this properly,” Rodolphus pointed out, “we may not get any information at all. I suggest we call in some reinforcements. Rabastan, for example, would be invaluable. And maybe even someone unexpected, like young Barty Crouch.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Bella said grudgingly, considering the suggestion. “I’m not sure about Crouch, though, he could be a weak link. I don’t trust him to hold up under pressure should the Aurors find us.”

“But his connections will be invaluable in this case,” Rodolphus said. “He can help us with the Aurors’ movements and to work out ways they are not protected.”

Bella thought about that for a little while. “Fine,” she said eventually. “Crouch it is. But this has to happen now. I want to move on the Longbottoms as soon as possible. Like I said, every day counts.”

“Your wish, my dear, is my command,” Rodolphus said with a smile.


	3. Information

Two days later there was a knock on the door. When Bella answered it, wand poised in case it was the Aurors or someone else from the Ministry, she saw the freckled face and straw-coloured hair of Barty Crouch.

“Crouch.” Her voice was cold. Even though she could see how he would be useful for their endeavour, she still hesitated at including him too much. He was too young – younger even than Snape – and would probably crack as soon as any pressure was put on him.

“Madam Lestrange.” Barty’s voice was also cold, but at least he addressed her with the proper deference. Bella had the impression that he didn’t like her very much, but his respect was undeniable.

“I suppose you must come in,” Bella said stiffly. She lowered her wand and stood aside, allowing the young man to enter, and directed him towards the sitting room.

“Rodolphus, we have a visitor,” Bella said unnecessarily as Barty Crouch stood before her husband. “Crouch, I assume you have news?”

She had not suggested the guest could sit, but Rodolphus did so now with a wave of his hand. Barty sat in the indicated chair, clearly not failing to notice it was the least comfortable in the room.

“Indeed I have news,” Barty said. “My father has indicated that the Aurors, including the Longbottoms, will be undergoing further training in the next month. This is to help acclimatise them to a world where the Dark Lord is not a threat.” His voice was heavy with contempt. “The difficulty will be to get both Longbottoms at once, however, as they have a young child and are rarely at work at the same time.”

“At home, then,” Bella said immediately.

“That is an option,” Barty said. “I have obtained a roster from the Auror’s office which details when they are to be on duty.”

Rodolphus smiled. “This is good news indeed. I knew you would be of use, Crouch.”

“I do my best,” Barty said. “For the Dark Lord, nothing is too much.”

“I am pleased to hear you say that,” Bella muttered, her eyes furiously scanning the parchment Barty had provided. “Two days from now,” she said finally. “Two days from now, after midday, neither of them are rostered to be working. If we ensure there are no attacks that day that might detain them, we can strike that afternoon.”

Rodolphus checked his schedule. “Yes, that suits me,” he agreed. “I’ll owl Rabastan and let him know. Crouch, are you in?”

Barty looked like he was steeling himself. “Yes.”

“Excellent,” Rodolphus said with a smile. “We’ll be in touch by owl with the details. Thank you for coming.”

There was a note of finality in his voice and Barty took the hint. “Thank you, Mr Lestrange, Madam Lestrange,” he said formally, standing up to leave. “I await your instructions.”

Once the door closed behind him, Bella turned to her husband. “Must we still include him? He is but a child. Now we have his intelligence, he can be discarded.”

“No, my dear, he is still required,” Rodolphus insisted. “Rosters can change, and we don’t want to appear at the Longbottoms’ house if they will not be there. Even you would have difficulty explaining that to the Hit Wizards.”

“But Crouch?” Bella repeated. “He’s too young! If the worst happens and we are found, with the first sign of pressure he’ll tell everything. You’ve said yourself that he has no tolerance for pain.”

“I am afraid that is a risk we will have to take,” Rodolphus said quietly. “Though, if all goes according to plan, that is something that we will never have to worry about.”

“Fine,” said Bella. “Crouch is included. But we must start planning our course of attack. We have less than two days to finalise everything.”


	4. Cruciatus

It had all gone exactly according to plan – in fact, it had almost been too easy. Everything had fallen into place exactly as Rodolphus had anticipated, and the Aurors Frank and Alice Longbottom – known members of the Order of the Phoenix – were in a secret cellar in the house of Lucius Malfoy, Bella’s brother-in-law, which had been volunteered for the purpose. The room was perfect, as it could only be found by lifting the rug on the drawing room floor and had been especially soundproofed by Malfoy’s father when he had owned the property. Bella supposed he had done his own brand of torture in there at some point.

However, she was disquieted. It had gone too well; everything had been too perfect. She kept thinking that something would happen to ruin everything – though that could have been because the Longbottoms were better than she had anticipated at withholding information. In any case, she persevered.

“Tell me what you know,” she intoned threateningly again, her wand pointed at Alice Longbottom’s nose.

“I told you, I don’t know anything!” the Longbottom woman protested, struggling with the ropes that bound her to her chair. Bella was disgusted to see that tears had formed in the woman’s eyes – had she no shame? Or maybe she thought that by crying she could illicit some sympathy from her interrogators. Clearly she had a lot to learn.

“ _Crucio!_ ” Bella snarled. The woman writhed in pain, her screams echoing around the stone chamber.

Bella stood back and waited for the effects of the curse to finish. Once the woman stopped screaming (but persisted in crying, thereby further demonstrating her weakness) Bella stood over her again.

“Care to rethink that last statement?”

“I don’t know anything,” the woman repeated, the words coming in short bursts as she tried to contain her sobs.

Bella looked at her scornfully. This was one of the best the Aurors’ office could produce? No wonder the Ministry and the Order had been doing so badly in the war. though even Bella had to admit that the woman was doing a good job in not divulging the information.

“ _Crucio_ ,” Bella repeated, thinking another dose ought to loosen her tongue a bit. The woman screamed again, so loudly that Bella had to cast a Silencing Charm on her.

“Please,” gasped the Longbottom man, who had been watching the whole thing, “please, stop hurting her!”

Bella turned to him, her eyes flashing. “Oh, so you would like the same treatment?” she hissed. “Or maybe you will tell us the whereabouts of the Dark Lord before it comes to that.”

“But we don’t know where he is!” the man protested, his eyes flicking from Bella and her wand to the crumpled figure of his wife, weeping, on the other chair. “We’ve got no more idea than you do!”

“DON’T LIE TO ME!” Bella roared, her anger overtaking her. “ _Crucio!_ ”

It was the man’s turn to scream and writhe with pain, but Bella paid him little attention. She turned to her husband, Rabastan, and Crouch.

“So? Aren’t you going to help?”

Rodolphus smiled. “But you seemed to be having so much fun on your own,” he said playfully. “We thought you wanted to finish them off yourself.”

Bella considered that. It was true, she was enjoying herself immensely, but she was uncomfortable with her three accomplices just watching the proceedings from the back of the room. “I’m willing to share,” she conceded.

Rabastan stood up, a gleeful expression on his face and his wand twirling around in his hand. “Sounds good to me,” he said, licking his lips in anticipation. “So, Mr Longbottom, what was that you were saying?”


	5. Broken

They held the Longbottoms for hours, casting the Cruciatus Curse on them so many times that even Bella, who liked to keep score of these things, began to lose count. The Longbottom pair still refused to divulge where the Dark Lord was, no matter what was done to them.

Bella felt herself getting more and more irate with them, and the strength and frequency of her _Crucio_ s had increased accordingly. Surely, she reasoned, the more pain they felt, the more likely they would be to reveal what they knew?

However, that didn’t seem to be the case. In fact, with each passing hour the victims were becoming less coherent with their protests and cries, and Rabastan had inferred that he suspected the woman, at least, to be at breaking point.

“Look at her,” he said after a particularly gruelling session. “She doesn’t even know where she is anymore.”

“I don’t care if she knows where she is,” Bella said stoutly. “What matters is that she knows where the Dark Lord is.”

“But does she?” asked Rodolphus with obvious hesitation. “We’ve been doing this for at least six hours, and we’re no closer to finding out where he is than we were at the start. Maybe they _don’t_ know.”

“She must know!” Bella insisted. “We must find out!” She realised she was starting to rant, but she needed to know. And if the Longbottoms in fact did not know where the Dark Lord was, then she had no options left. “ _CRUCIO!_ ” She shouted the curse at the Longbottom woman, ignoring the screams and, as her brother-in-law had implied, increasingly incoherent protests.

After another hour had passed, still unsuccessfully, even Bella had to admit that Rabastan might have a point. The Longbottom woman was completely unstable by this time, and the man wasn’t much better. It seemed that the stronger the curses had become, the more the brains of the victims were beaten and bruised, so that now it seemed it would be impossible to get anything at all from them, be it new information or not.

Barty Crouch was standing in front of the man, holding up his hand. “How many fingers do you see, Longbottom?” he asked. In truth he looked a little worried, as though he found himself in deeper than he had anticipated. Bella smiled to herself a little – she had been right with that feeling.

The Longbottom man looked like he couldn’t even see Crouch, let alone how many fingers he was holding up. “Uh?” he mumbled. “Bah del mffft hig vullah.”

“Fingers!” Crouch shouted. “How many fingers?”

The man just looked at him blankly. “Bregh?”

Crouch turned around to face Bella and shook his head. “He’s gone,” he said. “Absolutely mental. You’ve addled him completely.”

Bella was just frustrated. “But he had information, I know he had,” she insisted. “It’s not my fault if he is too weak to stand up to a little interrogation.”

Crouch just shrugged and moved to the woman. “How many fingers am I holding up?” he asked sharply.

The woman looked briefly at him before gazing absently at a spider web in the corner. Crouch slapped her hard on the face, twice.

“For God’s sake, look at me, woman!” he shouted. “Fingers! How many fingers?”

“Lehht?” asked the woman. “Gourn?”

Crouch slapped her again, then turned to the others. “Her, too. Nothing left up there at all.” He waved a finger around his ear disparagingly.

Bella scowled. “And to think it was said that they were brilliant,” she spat contemptuously. “Look at them now. They might as well be children.”

“Whatever they are,” Rodolphus said evenly, “we won’t be getting any information from them now. What do you suggest we do with them?”

“Leave them here,” Rabastan suggested. “Let them rot.”

Bella shook her head. “Malfoy will never allow it. We will have to take them out and dump them somewhere.”

“Somewhere remote,” agreed Rodolphus. “That gives them a chance to die of exposure before they’re found.”

Bella smiled. Even though they did not have the information they had been looking for, the thought of the two Aurors rotting in a field somewhere was, she admitted, distinctly satisfying, and would in some way atone for their otherwise unsuccessful day.


	6. Fallout

For once, things hadn’t gone according to plan. The Longbottoms were found almost immediately, and the Aurors somehow managed to connect their disappearance and injuries to Bella, Rodolphus, Rabastan and Crouch. What was even worse was that all four of them were at the Lestrange residence when the knock on the door came, having a debrief about their unsuccessful afternoon. Bella couldn’t believe how misguided they had been to cast a spell restricting Apparition from the house – while that worked fine for Uncle Orion’s place, with all the other secrecy spells on it, if anyone could find their house then it was ludicrously stupid not to have a method of escape should it be required.

Needless to say she had maintained a dignified silence all through the questioning, and was proud that both her husband and brother-in-law had achieved the same. Crouch, on the other hand, was another matter.

“Don’t hurt me!” he kept crying. “Don’t hurt me! I’ll tell you everything I know!”

She shook her head contemptuously, catching her husband’s eye in the process. Hadn’t she said from the outset he would crumble under pressure?

Amazingly, however, their luck held for once. The boy, though crying for his mother, didn’t actually tell his interrogators anything, saying only that he had been at the residence to deliver a message to Madam Lestrange. Yes, the weakling was trying to save his own skin, but he didn’t actually incriminate the rest of them in any way.

In fact, the only proof the Ministry had was the _priori incantatem_ spell, which demonstrated the last spells their wands had performed.

“It’s not much,” Rudolphus whispered, “but the Ministry doesn’t need much by way of proof these days.”

She couldn’t argue with that – Crouch’s father was one of the worst for sending people to Azkaban without a trial. She had celebrated when he had done that to her cousin, but now, when it was her fate in the balance …

“I will do whatever is necessary to show my devotion to the Dark Lord,” she said in her most dignified voice. “Even if that is a sentence in Azkaban. At least then, when he returns, he will know we have not betrayed him.”

Rodolphus nodded. “That he will. Even if we must serve time Azkaban to prove it.”

She nodded, flicking her head contemptuously at the young boy still visible through the doorway. “And he will know we did not forsake him, unlike some others. He will know our loyalty. And he will reward us.”


End file.
